An increase in sea levels
over the last ten years is responsible for the disappearance of many
beautiful beaches and parts of protected forests in the central province
of Quang Nam, which boasts a 125km coastline.
Sea waters are even encroaching upon coastal residential areas in Nui Thanh district and Hoi An city.
The commune of Tam Hai island in Nui Thanh district has seen sea
waters encroaching by 50m in the last five years. As a result, the local
authorities have planned to relocate approximately 200 households from
the most severely affected village, Thuan An.
Many
villagers have migrated to the mainland as they fear the impacts of more
frequently occurring natural disasters, said Nguyen Tan Hung, a commune
official in charge of agriculture.
According to
Hung, since the construction of 2km of protective dykes along the coast
in Tam Hai commune in 2012, landslides have decreased and people’s lives
have stabilised. However, a 30m section of the embankment was damaged
in a storm in late 2013.
The commune needs to expand
the dyke system by 2.4 km along the villages of Thuan An and Binh
Trung, since sea levels have been rising encroaching upon these
localities by nearly 10m each year, he added.
Rising
sea levels and erosion are also affecting Cua Dai beach in Hoi An city
where many high-end resorts are located. The sea is now only 40m away
from roads, and tides have eroded the coast to the extent that in this
area some beaches have been swept away completely.
This is particularly difficult for resorts as they now have to explore
ways to protect their assets from further encroachment of the sea.
According to Ngo Van Hoang, Director of SunRise Resort, in the last
eight years sea level rises and erosion have impacted on more than 200m
of the property, forcing the resort to spend 1 million USD on the
construction of embankments. However, the embankments could not
withstand the ocean’s high waves.
The increase in
sea levels has negatively impacted business for resorts as there are now
fewer beaches left for tourists, he revealed.
Together, resorts have invited experts from the Netherlands to
survey the area and propose solutions, but the construction of a complex
dyke system goes beyond their means due to its very high costs, he
added.
In 2010 the province approved a 299 billion
VND (14.2 million USD) project to prevent the sea from further
encroaching on Hoi An’s coast. To date, only 714m of dykes have been
built.
According to the province’s climate change
scenario for 2020, flooding will mainly occur in low-lying coastal
areas, resulting in over 306 sq.km being submerged.
The city of Hoi An will be hit hardest, with flooding predicted in more
than 26 percent of the city; followed by Dien Ban district with 26
percent; Duy Xuyen district with 16 percent; and Nui Thanh district with
15 percent.-VNA